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by Glen Besa

To the casual observer of the 2021 campaign for Virginia governor e.g., those whose primary source of information on politics was TV news and/or ads Glenn Youngkin probably appeared to be a moderate suburban dad who wanted to cut taxes and give parents a greater voice in their schools. A voter would have had to look a little deeper, by doing some research on Youngkin, to hear the darker, right-wing, Trumpian messages related to election integrity and critical race theory delivered with a smile and a sweater vest rather than Trumps snarling nastiness.

Assiduously avoiding the questions of pesky reporters, while keeping his more noxious views confined to right-wing media outlets, Youngkin was pretty much a blank slate to most voters although he shouldnt have been, if they had paid careful attention (or read this blog regularly!) throughout the campaign. Starting before Inauguration Day, however, Youngkins true character as a Trump/DeSantis-style culture warrior became undeniable, as he went with several hard-right and/or anti-environmental picks for his Cabinet, along with a host of executive orders that were clearly geared towards the Fox News-viewing, hard-core Republican base. Consider Youngkins initial Executive Orders, issued on Day One of his administration, as well as EO-10 issued four days later:

Executive Order 1. ENDING THE USE OF INHERENTLY DIVISIVE CONCEPTS, INCLUDING CRITICAL RACE THEORY, AND RESTORING EXCELLENCE IN K-12 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN THE COMMONWEALTH In fact, as has been pointed out repeatedly, Virginia doesnt teach critical race theory in our public schools. So whats this order all about? Apparently, burying Americas original sin of slavery, along with centuries of racism Jim Crow, Massive Resistance right here in Virginia, etc. appears to be Youngkins #1 priority. Thats right less than two years after Americans witnessed systemic racism in its most brutal form, with the murder of George Floyd, Gov. Youngkin and Republican message gurus want to convince us that racism no longer exists. To accomplish that, they are arguing that teaching actual history about the institution of slavery enshrined in the US Constitution, Jim Crow enshrined in state laws across the country, and the persistent racial discrimination in our society is too divisive and upsetting for young (white?) students to bear. Apparently, Excellence in Education necessitates state-sponsored historical amnesia, with an Orwellian hotline to the Governors desk as the enforcement tool. If book banning, revisionist history and a snitch line are not enough, then quasi-privatization of public education should keep those people out of their childrens classrooms. The last time Virginia went down that path in the 1950s, at least the segregationists were honest as to their intentions.

Executive Order 2. REAFFIRMING THE RIGHTS OF PARENTS IN THE UPBRINGING, EDUCATION, AND CARE OF THEIR CHILDREN Its hard to tell from the title, but this order is all about masks. It has set off intense debate, argument and dissension in schools and at school board meetings across the state. Too many conservatives, including Christian nationalists, appear to have abandoned the Golden Rule in favor of elevating selfishness as their most cherished value. We know that masks are just as important or more so in preventing infected people from spreading Covid as in protecting us from contracting it. But apparently, in Youngkins view, the right of a child to be free of the shared burden of masking trumps others concerns for the safety of their children. And so it goes for vaccines as well.

Executive Order 6. REINVIGORATING JOB GROWTH BY REMOVING BURDENSOME REGULATIONS FROM VIRGINIAS BUSINESS COMMUNITY When you are already the #1 state for business in the United States, what exactly are these supposedly burdensome regulations Youngkins referring to? Of course, while this EO is primarily focused on COVID-19 regulations, Youngkin and Republican legislators wrongly consider environmental regulations aka, protections to be overly burdensome as well. In other words, laws and regulations ensuring us clean air and water and a safer climate are too much to ask of those corporate interests backing Glenn Youngkin. Thats how we end up with Republican bills gutting the permitting authority of the citizen air and water boards and pulling Virginia from a regional cap and trade program to reduce carbon pollution harming our planet. Apparently, thats what Trump Republicans like Youngkin (falsely) believe will keep Virginia at the top of the leaderboard, at least in the eyes of their members-only-country-club buddies.

Executive Order 7. ESTABLISHING THE COMMISSION ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING PREVENTION AND SURVIVOR SUPPORT Yes, this is a serious problem that requires government action, as is evidenced by the ongoing investigation of Congressman Matt Gaetz (R, FL) and the likes of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. But with all the culture war tropes spouting from Youngkins talking head, doesnt this sound like a dog whistle to the QAnon conspiracists (wildly false) contention that prominent Democrats (e.g., Hillary Clinton) and Jews (e.g., George Soros) are trafficking children to serve their desires as a cabal of Satanic, cannibalistic pedophiles? Anyway stay tuned for who Youngkin appoints to his commission, and if any of them have ties to QAnon.

Executive Order 8. ESTABLISHING THE COMMISSION TO COMBAT ANTISEMITISM Yes, the rise of white supremacists in this country is more than worrisome consider their prominent role in Trumps January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol and what happened in Charlottesville at the Unite the Right, Jews will not Replace Us Rally. You can call me cynical, but I believe Executive Order 8 is more intended as a sop for the End Times Christian nationalists who support Youngkin and Trump than as an honest concern for the well-being of Jews. Remember, you cant get to the End Times if peace comes to the Middle East, and if Armageddon never occurs. Also, when you think about it for a minute, this commission is coming from someone who was endorsed by the guy (Trump) who has helped fuel the rise of racist, xenophobic, anti-Semitic, etc. hatred and even violence in recent years. Then theres the role of right-wing media, which Youngkin frequently appears on. Is Youngkins commission going to study Trump and right wing media and report on how theyve contributed to the rise of anti-Semitism? Something tells me the answer to that is no. Also, in the context of the sophisticated divisiveness emanating from this suburban dad in a red vest, I am reminded of that famous quote by Martin Niemller regarding the Nazis: First they came for the socialists, and I didnt do anything because I wasnt a socialist In his case, Youngkin went after Blacks first as has, sadly, been the American way for centuries. But the movement that Youngkin is playing footsies with is already chock full of antisemites. And gays are on that list right after Blacks. During the campaign, who knew that Youngkin opposes gay marriage? I am not calling Youngkin a Nazi or an anti-Semite, of course; but since he is more than willing to use racism to advance his political career, just how far is he willing to go with this divide-and-conquer strategy? Here again, we will judge Youngkins sincerity by the quality of his appointments to this commission, and by whatever conclusions they come to.

Executive Order 9. PROTECTING RATEPAYERS FROM THE RISING COST OF LIVING DUE TO THE REGIONAL GREENHOUSE GAS INITIATIVE It would be different if Youngkin and Republicans, in general, agreed that climate change posed an existential threat to society (which it obviously does!). Then we could have an honest debate as to what policies are best to address it. Tragically, that is not the case here. Instead, Youngkin made it clear in the second gubernatorial debate that he wouldnt even say the words climate change or global warming, while he aiming to bring back coal and expand reliance on fracked gas. Even worse, Youngkin has announced his intentions to dismantle the modest steps Virginia has taken to address climate change, by withdrawing from RGGI and gutting the Virginia Clean Economy Act. All of this makes it crystal clear that Youngkin, like Trump, has no intention of addressing this crisis at all, other than to make it *worse*. And like the Republicans in Hampton Roads who are all-in on spending billions of tax dollars for adaptation to recurrent flooding, Youngkin has no plan to address the root cause (global heating) of the flooding.

Executive Order 10. FOCUSING VIRGINIAS DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION OFFICE AND DESIGNATING A COMMONWEALTH CHIEF DIVERSITY, OPPORTUNITY, & INCLUSION OFFICER It is appropriate that I begin and end this guide on the topic of race. Youngkins victory was attributable, in part, to his artful use of the Republicans newest racist dog whistle, Critical Race Theory CRT, for short. Amoral (or immoral) Republican strategists across the country are salivating at how they can model Youngkins campaign use of CRT to scare suburban white women into voting Republican in the upcoming midterm elections. Dropping Equity from the title of Virginias Chief Diversity officer and substituting Opportunity is one more way of undermining progress on the gross financial inequities that break along racial lines. Equity or fairness is anathema to Republicans and the Christian nationalists who adhere to the prosperity gospel. In their view, if youre born poor, thats your tough luck. If you have a hard time advancing in a neighborhood plagued by drugs and guns and underfunded schools, then once again, the fault lies with you. And in these peoples view, whether a kid is raised in an inner city public housing project or toney Great Falls, he or she has the same opportunity to succeed, which is a convenient perspective for a guy who sent his kids to private school. Equity would mean that the very privileged, like Youngkin, would have to pay more taxes to actually equalize the opportunity for kids. Of course, Youngkin will have none of that. Additionally, if you care about womens reproductive rights consider that the new Chief Diversity, Opportunity & Inclusion Officer will be an ambassador for unborn children. Past experience tells me that the Youngkin administration will care a whole lot more about the unborn children than the children living in poverty today.

Where we go from here

As Virginians, we now find ourselves thrust into the culture wars common in Red State politics. Eight years of Democrats in the Governors mansion had somewhat insulated many but not all of us from dealing with it up close and personal, even as Trump misgoverned our nation. Now, we are seeing first hand the damage that can be done to civility and civil society by the likes of a Greg Abbott, a Ron DeSantis or a Glenn Youngkin. All three of those governors, and many others, are using Trumps right-wing populist playbook, with ambitions to be the president of the United States. Its up to us to stop them to stop Glenn Youngkin and RESIST!

Note: The opinions expressed in this blog post are solely those of the author, and are not intended to reflect the opinion or the positions of any organizations with which he may be associated.

Link:
A Virginian's Guide to Glenn Youngkin's Exploitation of the Culture Wars in the Commonwealth - Blue Virginia

And just like that, week one of Foxs newest showJesse Watters Primetimeis coming to a close. What have we learned from the hour-long program that billed itself as a platform for exposing scoundrels and celebrating patriots?

In the premiere episode, Jesse Watters, who has spent two decades at Fox, cohosts The Five, and previously had his own weekend show, promised viewers he would use his new program to stand up for regular Americans who have been disrespected for far too long. Sounds familiar, and indeed Watters used the opening monologue to try on his best Tucker Carlson impression, mimicking his more notorious colleagues faux-populist rage toward nameless elites while condemning Wall Street corruption and Americas shamefully mismanaged wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Ignorant, greedy leaders sold out our factories and pride to the Chinese Communists for unpatriotic profits, Watters said. Sick cyber warriors divided us by race to distract us from the real division: class.

Carlsons show has long dominated Fox Newss ratings, with more than 3 million average viewers on a nightly basis last year and an endless stream of viral clips to prove it, and it seems that Wattersand the networkknow a winning formula when they see it. To borrow a phrase from the NFL analysts, its a copycat league, and Watters show, for now at least, serves up the same Fox Corpapproved right-wing populism that viewers have grown accustomed to during Carlsons reign as the king of cable news. Though, Watters does offer viewers a lighter, more comedic touch than the self-serious host runningthe 8 p.m. hour. Rather than scowling at liberal elites with Tucker Facepinched eyebrows, head cocked to the side, mouth slightly ajarWatters wears a near-constant smirk. Rather than hamming up the righteous indignation, he casually laughs off figures like Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton, often lazily dropping in barely relevant movie clips mid-monologue to hit punchlines or drive home points for him. Though, Watterss reliance on cheap humor from his production crew might be for the best, given that his droning, one-track voice lacks the range necessary to believably sell fist-slamming-desk rage and conviction. Perhaps sensing his constraints as a solo act, the showrunners at Fox packed the opening week of Watterss show with A-list Trumpworld guests, including Mike Pence, Jeanine Pirro, Dan Bongino, and Eric Trump.

Presentation aside, the similarities between Watters and Carlsons programming are hard to miss, and it is difficult to imagine a world in which the formers show exists without the latter laying the groundwork for it. Like Carlson, a Trinity College alumnus, Watters, also a Trinity grad, is suddenly a champion of the working class who is speaking out against corporate powers and Democratic leaders who he believes have abandoned blue-collar Americans. Carlson even has Watterswho, not too long ago, was Foxs de facto spring break correspondentdiscussing far-right European populism, with the two weighing in on Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbns immigration policies during an episode of The Five this week. Somehow, the pair seem to have developed the same fascination with why female cartoons are now dressing less sexy, a description that Carlson used last week while fuming over the makeovers of M&Ms candy mascots. Watters, presumably after seeing all the attention that Carlson received for speaking out against sexually unappealing animated chocolates, spent a segment of his Wednesday show lamenting Disneys decision to change Minnie Mouses wardrobe. I cant believe Im actually saying this, but Disney is totally changing Minnie Mouse. Disney is putting Minnie Mouse in a pantsuit, said Watters, before asserting that Disney executives must be bored out of their minds and theyre just making it all uncomfortable for the rest of us.

Another cause that Watters jumped on board with this week is the day tradersmaking a fortune or a name for themselves outside the confines of corporate America. This appeared to be a reference to incidents like last years GameStop short squeeze, when small-time traders helped the video game retailers stock surge in an attempt to beat out major financial firms that were attempting to short its stock. At the time, Carlson praised the Reddit guys who rallied around GameStop, saying that they sent a message to Wall Street. Likewise, Watters has made appeals to this demographic of young and very online traders, some of whom have criticized House Speaker Nancy Pelosis involvement in the stock market. So while Nancy slow-walks antitrust legislation to break up Big Tech, her family [is] taking advantage and laughing all the way to the bank. They must think were idiots, Watters said during a segment dubbing Pelosi The Wolf of Washington.

More here:
With Jesse Watters Primetime, Fox Dips Another Toe in the Populist Culture Wars - Vanity Fair

In the 1970s Will Shortz submitted a crossword to the New York Times with a word so scandalous that the editor rejected it. The word: bellybutton. Fast forward over four decades and Shortz himself is the Times crossword editor who is now the gatekeeper, selecting puzzles from the nearly 200 submissions he gets a week. (Bellybutton has appeared once during his tenure. Clue: navel.)

I wouldnt [publish a word in the crossword] that is pornographicBut it depends on the term, Shortz told me. Sex toy has been an answer twice. Thats something I have no problem with. But certainly [former editors] Margaret Farrar and Will Weng wouldnt have done it.

There is a limit to sex in the puzzle. References to pegging, will never show up in The Times, according to Benjamin Tausig editor of the indie American Values Club crossword (which formerly ran in The Onion), and author of The Curious History of the Crossword. While an article on pegging might run in the actual newspaper, Tausig said, in the crossword, things are kept more PG. The AV Club crossword, however, has published pegging.

Sex is just one of the many contentious issues surrounding crossword puzzles. At a time when debates about language anchor political discourse and incorrect pronouns spark vicious attacks, the fact that culture wars are being played out in crossword puzzles makes sense.

During the pandemic, [the crossword community has had] the same type of reckoning that weve had in the rest of American societywhere were looking at representation, were looking at inclusion, said Rebecca Neipris co-host of the Crossnerds podcast. Hundreds of thousands of people are consuming this thing on a daily basis and paying for it. So you also have this responsibility to at least be aware of what it is that youre feeding those people.

Puzzle debates represent a microcosm of larger cultural conflicts surrounding race, class, and gender. Questions arise: should dictators appear in crosswords? Serial killers? What about Donald Trump? Or Hitler? Are terms like hag okay?

The types of clues and answers in crosswords have shifted dramatically. On March 21, 1943, the New York Times crossword clue was author of a bestseller. The answer: six letters long HITLER. Hitler still appears in the Times crosswords, but his last name hasnt been an answer since 1984 (clued as historys blackest.)

Whether you want it or not, theres a kind of inherent politics [to a crossword], said Michael Sharp, a SUNY-Binghamton English professor who, under the pseudonym Rex Parker, pens a blog critiquing The Times crossword and has constructed puzzles for them .Youre making an assertion about what counts as common knowledge.

For decades the people making decisions about what should be in a puzzle have been straight white men according to Tausig, who said crosswords were a very much elite, hyper educated, white, New York City thing, where if you didnt know chess and your classics you were screwed.

When Shortz became editor of The Times crossword in 1993, things began to change. Shortz brought pop culture into crosswords, Tausig said. Yet Shortz doesnt always get it right. A few years ago, Shortz included the word beaner in a puzzle. Its baseball slang for a ball that hits the batters head. But its also, as I did not know at the time, an offensive term for Hispanics, he said. There was a lot of anger over that.

Even Sharp, who is one of Shortzs biggest critics, said that Shortz changed the New York Times, radically in terms of how fun it wasturning away from being a test about arcane knowledge and toward a kind of playful, wordplay-oriented kind of puzzle.

Although crossword constructors and solvers are overwhelmingly left-wingShortz surveyed attendees of his American Crossword Puzzle Tournament in March 2017 and found that close to 90 percent voted for Clintonthere is no consensus among editors, podcasters, and solvers on what should be included in a puzzle.

So how do constructors decide whats in and whats out? Patrick Berry, a constructor whose puzzles have appeared in The New York Times and The New Yorker, said that he strives to keep his puzzles apolitical, which is difficult. It becomes an endless series of judgment calls. Is this slang term offensive? Is that world leader merely unpleasant, or too toxic to even mention? Berry said.

While there are some answers that constructors and solvers all agreed were objectionable, such as racial slurs, the community is divided on other types of clues. Berry thinks that mainstream crosswords shouldnt have Curse words, certain bodily functionsnotorious figures like Harvey Weinstein [because] puzzles are meant to be entertaining, and that stuff generally isnt. Yet omitting these terms is a political choice as well. Some people (me) find curse words and bodily functions very entertaining, and who counts as a notorious figure is up for debate. While Berry wont put references to Nazis in his puzzles, not everyone feels that way.

Shortz will include Nazi if it is clued in a non-offensive way. Ive had Nazi in the puzzle a number of times. But usually I clued it Raiders of the Lost Ark villainor Soup Nazi from Seinfeld, he said. A reference to notorious Nazi doctor Josef Mengele, however, caused him to reject a puzzle. I just found that so offensive, that I just didnt want that in the New York Times crossword, Shortz said.

In response to the beaner incident, the Times created a diversity panel that reads over every crossword to find terms that could cause offense. The standard we use nowis, taken out of context, is the answer, something that is likely to offend people, Shortz said.

Recently the panel flagged pig, because its clue was gluttonous. One of the peopleobjected to that because in their mind, it suggested fat shaming, he said. And I went to the dictionarygluttonous is basically one who overeats. Its not a matter of fat shaming, he claimed. Its just what the word means. But he took the word out so as not to offend readers.

Yet Sharp believes Shortz and The Times havent gone far enough. Last year he posted a link to an open letter to the then Times puzzle executive director asking that women and/or non-binary puzzle lovers comprise at least half of Wills test solving team and more diversity to all of its editorial staff. (The letter noted that The Times has frequently had more than half of its creators be non-male, but urged that there should be a formal policy).

For most of the history of crosswords, All the constructors were men pretty much men, said Tausig. He ensures that half of the constructors he publishes are women or non-binary. More diversity means that Puzzles deal with different material now, he said, including fewer sexist terms like hag and clues about director Ava Duvernay.

This year Tausig published a non-binary themed puzzle by a non-binary creator. He received a few angry emails and lost some subscribers, but most people loved it. Recently The Times has pushed for more diversity as well. On January 10, 2022, the paper announced a crossword constructor diversity fellowship to provide mentorship and support for constructors from underrepresented groups, including women, people of color and the L.G.B.T.Q. community. Shortz is serving as one of the members of this fellowship.

More contentious than non-binary creators or Nazism is Donald Trump, who is verboten in many crosswords, and has only appeared twice in The Times (and only once since he was elected president) in comparison to Obamas 73 showings (to be fair Obama was a 2-term president, but still). This isnt about like censorship, its about whats fun. I dont know if theres any way to make to put Trump in a puzzle and have it be fun, said Tausig, who shies away from using any clues that would jolt readers out of the bubble of the game. Yet dictators like Chairman Mao and Idi Amin routinely show up in crosswords with little outcry.

Why is it okay to have other dictators [than Hitler] who also murdered millions of people?...How directly involved did you have to be in mass murders? asks Neipris.

IDI has been an answer 120 times since Shortz began editing the puzzle, most recently on July 5 of this year. Former Times editor Farrar did not allow Idi Amin in a puzzle because he was such a despicable person, Shortz said. Nowadays, no one loves to have Idi Amin in a puzzle, but sometimes he makes the interlock work, so its all right. Sharp also notes that few words are three letters beginning and ending with I, but he thinks theres another reason for Amins popularity. Its a European biasIts people who dont have the experienceof dictators in Africa. They could just look at their names and think of them as just words.

Hitler is harder to think of as just a word, even though, as Sharp said because HITLER is six letters and ends in ER the word, he Probablywould have helped out some constructor but nobody wants to think about Hitler when theyre doing their puzzle. (Adolf has shown up more recently as an answer: unpopular baby name March 12, 2017.)

Similarly, Mao is a useful word for constructors. 75% of all entries are five letters or fewer. So giving up MAO makes construction harder, whereas giving up DONALD TRUMP has no effect, said Berry. Another reason is that Maos reign is further back in history, so theres a layer of removefeelings about Trump remain immediate and visceral.

Not everyone has trouble with seeing Trumps name in a puzzle. Hayley Gold, whose book on the crossword culture wars, Letters to Margaret will be published this year, said, If someones a prominent figure in the world, I personally believe that theyre fair game to be in the puzzle. And it doesnt mean that you support their views necessarily.

Can a puzzle truly be apolitical in such a politically-charged country?

Berry thinks so. Clues are supposed to be based on facts, not opinions. Most clues really will end up being neutral and I think thats a good thing overall, he said. As much as Berry tries to be apolitical, his views sneak in. A blandly factual clue like [Transgender four-star admiral Rachel] for LEVINE makes a quiet but powerful statement for inclusivity Since I find it difficult to write a neutral clue for, say, NRA or MAGA, I instead avoid using those entries altogether.

Other constructors dont avoid NRA, which has appeared 569 times in The Times, although not always in reference to the gun group. Most recently on December 8, 2021, NRA was clued as food industry lobby, in brief. MAGA, however, has never shown up.

Gold cautions that criticism of crosswords can sometimes go too far. In my experience, Will Shortz has been the nicest guy in the world. I hate all the articles that tried to slander him and make it like, Oh, hes this old white dude. And hes trying to keep puzzles, sexist and racist.Change is slow and change is happening.

Correction 2/1/2022 10:52 a.m.: This article has been updated to accurately reflect correct surnames.

Continued here:
The Surprisingly Messy Culture Wars Within The New York Times Crossword Puzzle - Kotaku

This week, podcaster Joe Rogan tweeted and then deleted a misleading story about ivermectin. The tremendously popular podcaster employed by streaming service Spotify has been in the news recently for touting misinformation regarding COVID-19 treatments; previously, he said he had taken ivermectin, which is an anti-parasitic drug, when he was diagnosed with COVID-19.

The gloating tweet appeared mere weeks after hundreds of medical experts urged Spotify to crack down on COVID-19 misinformation, specifically calling out the dangers of Rogan's podcast. Rogan'snow-deleted tweetsaid "Well, lookie here," and linked to a report on a press release suggesting that ivermectin an off-label anti-parasite drug used for the treatment of some parasitic worms in people and animals was "effective" against the omicron variant in a phase 3 clinical trial. Reuters originally reported on the press release on Monday, but quickly made a correction.

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"CORRECTION: Japan's Kowa said anti-parasite drug ivermectin showed an 'antiviral effect' against Omicron and other variants of coronavirus in joint non-clinical research," Reuters tweeted. "The @WHO has warned against its use.We will delete a tweet with a misleading headline."

Before the correction was made, many people like Rogan Laura Ingraham, and Charlie Kirk, the head of the right-wing campus organization Turning Point USA shared the misleading article. Curiously, the conspiracy theory that ivermectin is an efficacious COVID-19 treatment, despite little evidence, has become a point of contention within culture wars with right-wing talking heads promoting the drug.

But science, ostensibly free from the culture wars, should operate without regard for the cultural storm that ivermectin has become enmeshed in. And despite Reuters' "misleading" headline regarding the Japenese study, little attention was paid to the actual study itself, and what it said and whether it actually did showanything new about ivermectin in treating COVID-19.

The Reuters article was based on a press release from Kowa Co. Ltd., a Japanese pharmaceutical company; at the moment, there is no peer-reviewed study attached to it. The news simply said that in a test-tube study, ivermectin showed "antiviral" capabilities against omicron. However, the company does plan on conducting Phase III human trials; should those show Ivermectin is effective in a way it was not against previous variants, that would merit new news regarding the anti-parasitic drug.

As Salon has previously reported in interviews with scientists, in vitro or test tube studies are limited in what they can reveal. Many different substances kill viruses in test tubes, including chlorine bleach and gasoline; this does not mean that they would do the same in the human body, nor that such substances could or should be injected or ingested to the point that they might eliminate viruses from one's body.

Related:Is there any evidence ivermectin can treat COVID-19? We analyzed the prominent scientific studies

Such in vitro studies "raise eyebrows" to a virologist,Dr. Benhur Lee, a Professor of Microbiology at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, previously told Salon. "I can increase the concentration of sodium chloride (table salt) by 50% to my tissue culture cells and show inhibition of most viruses," Lee said. "But I don't go asking people to eat as much salty food as possible to combat virus infections, much less SARS-CoV-2."

As Salon has reported, ivermectin is Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved and it can be prescribed by any U.S.-based physician, usually to those with intestinal strongyloidiasis and onchocerciasis two conditions caused by parasitic worms. However, the drug has been co-opted by those with an anti-vaccine agenda trying to keep people from getting vaccinated. Unlike ivermectin, there is sound scientific evidence that the existing COVID-19 vaccines prevent people from getting hospitalized or dying from COVID-19.

Without a prescription, the only way for a layperson to obtain ivermectin would be at a feed store or farm supply store, which sell the drug as a horse dewormer. As Salon previously reportedlast summer, some tractor supply stores around the country posted signs reminding their customers that the ivermectin they sell is only for animal consumption. Crucially, the FDA has not recommended ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19. In fact, the public health agency warns against it. While there have been some studies that have had mild positive results around ivermectin and treating COVID-19, scientists have repeatedly told Salon that these studies, due to their small size or lack of being tested in humans, should be taken with a grain of salt.

Edward Mills of McMaster is a principal investigator of the Together Trial, which consists of more than 5,000 participants, and is the largest Phase 3 randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled trial. That trial found that ivermectin showed no effect in treating COVID-19. Mills explained to Salon via email that the press release Rogan cited refers to "a test-tube study and has the same strengths and limitations as any test tube study."

"It doesn't provide any evidence on the role of IVM [ivermectin] on clinical use," Mills said. "It really should have not received a press release and no legitimate news source should have reported on it."

A second ivermectin-related study that was recently published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases could be misleading, too. The study states that a five-day course of ivermectin could reduce the duration of COVID-19 symptoms.

"The second study in Bangladesh was actually one of the earliest studies of IVM when people were still very open to repurposed medicines," Mills explained, referring to the latter study. "It is just that it is being published 18 months after it was conducted."

Mills added: "It is by a very well respected group from Bangladesh, but was small and they were doing this without resources."

Mills concluded that there was a time when many scientists were open to evaluating ivermectin from smaller, early studies. But as the science continued with larger, randomized trials, those findings weren't compelling enough to continue.

"But as more and more higher quality forms of evidence, usually large randomized trials, have been completed, they did not find compelling enough findings," Mills said. "It's important to note that NIH and Oxford continue to do large randomized trials, as there remains some uncertainty."

Read more on the omicron variant:

See the rest here:
Joe Rogan can't stop pushing ivermectin as a COVID treatment. Experts are tired of debunking him - Salon

If youve been pondering the idea of the world coming to an end lately, it might be because youve been spending too much time with the Libs of TikTok.

The no-longer-underground social media sensation which amassed more than a half-million followers and tens of millions of views on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube in less than a year prides itself on exposing far left hypocrisy and liberal wokeness on steroids. The accounts mysterious creator specializes in outing unchecked teachers, abuses in schools and the alleged indoctrination of children by reposting videos of the so-called offenders in their own words.

With biting zingers and snappy captions, the feed posts alarming videos pulled directly from the unhinged sources: TikTok accounts of, say, a college professor accused of soft-pedaling pedophilia or a middle school teacher gleefully threatening to throw a child at you. Maybe even an English teacher steering students to pledge their allegiance to a gay pride banner after secretly stowing the American flag.

Those are just a few of the greatest viral hits, mixed in with a hefty dose of button-pushing hot takes on non-binary gender fluidity and its impact on US youths.

The feeds founder who chooses to remain anonymous spoke with The Post about the meteoric rise of the feed she formally launched in April 2020 which has high-profile fans in controversial podcaster Joe Rogan, 54, and former The View co-host Meghan McCain, 37, who often retweets her. While her location reads Depths of Hell online, the founder said shes in a slightly cooler California location, where she quit her former nonpolitical 9-to-5 job to run the feed full time.

Ive been called a Nazi, white supremacist, grifter, liar. Im not offended I think these people are so broken I cant see any of the people Ive posted about coming to my home. I dont think theyre violent.

Its a grassroots one-person operation yes, it once lived on TikTok but that account is now deactivated that involves scouring every corner of the web for up to eight hours a day and sifting through tips and submissions.

I dont do this for money or fame. Im not some politician or blue-check journalist. And people feel like they have someone they can talk to when they have no one else to ask to help them spread it, she said, noting that she relies heavily on the dozens of direct messages in her inbox each day from parents and ordinary citizens who want their story to have a platform.

With me, they have a place to reach out to to get the message out, she told The Post. I feel like there are so many small stories that are so important that arent getting out and thats what Im here for. It sometimes feels like a mini Project Veritas.

Although plenty of proud conservatives hang on her every tweet, she told The Post there are also secret liberals, albeit ones too scared to be publicly associated withher, who follow the feed. I think a lot of people in the middle follow me, and probably a lot of liberals and democrats, she said.

Meanwhile, Libs of TikTok viewers likely dont know whether to laugh or cry at the often disturbing content, but the cherry on top is her withering, pithy commentary: The captions are the hardest part of the whole thing I try to encapsulate the whole video together with the message . . . in two lines, max.

And shes not losing sleep over retribution from a teed-off subject. I cant see any of the people Ive posted about coming to my home, she said. I dont think theyre violent.

Still, unsurprisingly, shes on the receiving end of some pretty ugly epithets. Ive been called a Nazi, white supremacist, grifter, liar, she said of the parade of messages and DMs that she ignores wholesale. Im not offended I think these people are so broken. The people on the left who all day call people Nazis and white supremacists are so broken. All the left-wing media are brainwashing people.

She said theres an inevitable moment anyone on the wrong side of the hard left will face: If you are a conservative, chances are you will be called a racist or Nazi in your life, noting how cheapened she believes these words have become in the culture wars. Its overused.

Teacher at West Hollow Middle School in NY went on unhinged rant today on his IG about masks and says if you mask shame him at school he will throw a child at you pic.twitter.com/YuwNfnYp4c

Waking people up about whats going on in schools and exposing lefty lunacy has been overwhelming. People have said, Your videos opened my eyes to whats going on or Your videos have convinced me to run for school board, she said, adding that she may have even converted some former lefties. I think Ive gotten a few [messages] that said, I used to be on the left. Her focus on the grooming and indoctrination in schools has been her main thrust on the feed. The left has taken over all the schools and universities and turned out all these people now who are so confused about their identity, and theyre teachers now. We need to stop this cycle, she said.

But whats most gratifying is the action taken after exposing what she considers to be educators gone too far. The attention to issues featured on Libs of TikTok has brought down multiple teachers who posted dubious videos but she doesnt take lightly seeing someones life go up in smoke. Its not easy. I really do feel bad, she told The Post, noting that their poor judgment and self-incriminating content brought about their downfall in the first place. Sometimes it breaks my heart, but it has to be done. These kids are so innocent and they dont deserve to go to school to get groomed and indoctrinated.

Its surprisingly easy to find countless teachers, lacking basic self-awareness, publicly and cavalierly posting inappropriate content on TikTok. Theyre usually smug about it, bragging about it and think there wont be repercussions, she claimed, adding, They were doing this as a government employee. Technically, its taxpayer money.

Reps for TikTok did not immediately respond to The Posts request for comment regarding her opinions about inflammatory content.

While she said shes always conscious of not running afoul of the ubiquitous Twitter police, the founder added that the constant censorship and suspensions only hurt the platforms credibility. I obviously dont agree with the policing and silencing, but I do think Twitter is an amazing platform. However, she tries to stay away from vaccine discourse for that reason. I know the work Im doing is really important, and I dont want to risk getting suspended for vaccine-related videos.

With future plans to monetize her work, the founder said she has no plans to hang up her laptop: I would never stop this because its too important.

Read more here:
Meet the mystery woman who quit her job to run the 'Libs of TikTok' account - New York Post